Monday, January 31, 2011

Is The Thank You Note Becoming A Lost Art?

I really hope not.

I will admit to being one of those people who still sends out handwritten (and handmade) thank you notes, and makes her children do so as well. So this video I saw yesterday on the CBS Sunday Morning Show did not sit well with me.

In it, as part of  the ongoing "Assignment America", Steve Hartman takes a look at the lost art of handwritten thank you notes.




I actually received a hand written note in the mail a few months back from a friend. She wrote just to say thanks for being a good friend. It was completely out of the blue and completely wonderful. It inspired me to send out a few of my own thank you  just because cards, and hers is still tacked to the side of my refrigerator, where it continues to make me smile.

Think what kind of an impression you could make with a card of your own. In an age where a handwritten thank you note is a dying art, let's dare to be different.

May I suggest you use Warm White, Via Felt or Smooth with a matching A-2 envelope for yours?

Monday, January 24, 2011

Tips For Avoiding the Dreaded "Mill Stock" Monkey Wrench

It happens to everyone. You work hard to choose a paper that is a perfect complement to your totally awesome design, only to find as the project nears completion, that the paper is not stocked by the merchant.

Panic, Anger, and Dread ensue.  Okay, maybe not so much. But it can be an added delay that your project cannot afford to encounter.

So what can you do to make sure this doesn't happen to you?

My first, last and biggest tip is to encourage you to work with your local paper rep and printer at the start of the project (or at the very least, before getting your heart set on a specific paper.) Your paper rep can check to see if you have chosen a paper that is stocked. If it is, you are halfway there. Keep in mind though, even after finding this out, you aren't 100% out of the woods yet.

For example, what if the paper is stocked but not in the size your printer needs for your project? Let's say you are creating a pocket folder and your printer will eventually need a 26 x 40 sheet, but the particular paper you want to use is stocked by your merchant  in 8.5 x 11 only?

Oops, it then becomes a mill item again.

Back in the old days, a mill item was synonymous with "Okay we can get that paper for you, but it's going to take a while." Today, mill stock does not necessarily equal a long delay. (We get three trucks a week from Mohawk, where years ago we might have gotten one). Instead, mill stock usually means "CMP does not have that specific item on our floor, but we can get it for you in even cartons pretty quickly from the mill."

No problem then, right?

Well, maybe yes, and maybe no. Go back to that even cartons part for a minute.

Ordering a mill stock item means that your printer will need to purchase the entire carton of the paper ordered. If there are 500 sheets of 26 x 40 paper in the carton, you get it all. If your pocket folder finished quantity is only 100, you will more than likely have way too much extra paper, which in turn will make that paper you selected too expensive for the job.

So what can you do? You can circumvent the mill stock delay by choosing a stocked paper so your printer can order whatever quantity of sheets are needed to complete your job, or find an alternative that may still be mill stocked, but contains a smaller number of sheets in that carton. Mills have been getting smarter about packaging heavy weights and dark colors in smaller carton quantities just for this purpose!

Averting an unplanned project delay is easier than you think. Communication between the designer, printer and paper merchant is key. Begin the dialogue at the beginning. Feel free to contact me via -mail if you need any help with paper selection for your next project. terris@cmpaper.com




Friday, January 21, 2011

Something to Celebrate

This weekend CMP will be getting together for a post holiday celebration and to honor some key employee anniversaries. I think it is pretty fabulous that we have such a great history of employee retention. With folks always on the move these days, our company is made even more valuable by its combined depth of experience.

Although some folks have surpassed the 30 year mark already, this April our current President, John Barbour, will be celebrating his 30 years with the company. Congratulations, John on your dedication to CMP and to the employees and customers.

Also putting up a big number, is John Haney (25 years). John normally works behind the scenes taking care of our network and communications, but has recently moved out from behind the computer to help in the sample department while Danielle is out on maternity leave.

Chuck Oleniczak, Spec Sales Representative, also celebrates a milestone, 20 years! He too has been working extra hard to help cover the sample department. Thanks John & Chuck  for the many years of loyal service to CMP and for pitching in to help when needed.

Two guys who work behind the scenes in our warehouse to make sure things flow smoothly, Mike VandeSteeg and Dave Kurdziel, are both celebrating 15 years with CMP. Simply awesome.

And although it sometimes feels like these two have been around forever, Bev Block and Scott Marks, CMP Sales Reps, will celebrate ten years of service. We are really glad to have you two out there representing us.

As we celebrate together this weekend, and begin our 126th year in business, we will not only be honoring our employees, but will honor those we do our work for: our loyal customers.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Wish We Had Thought Of This...

Instead, I will share with you the coolest thing I have stumbled upon lately.


Ever wanted to do something unusual with your direct mail piece, brochure or invitation, but lacked inspiration?

Problem solved.

There are so many 60 second videos of unusual (and not so unusual folds) in the fold factory archives that you may not get anything else accomplished once you start looking at them.

Sign up (I sure did) to get Trish's free Super-Cool Fold of the Week or check out the many she has shared already at http://208.67.58.163/fotw_archive.php

This idea is so awesome I wish we had thought of it!




The above video is just one cool example.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Do You Believe In The Power of Print?

I ran across this article and video. Thought they were worth sharing. How awesome to see industry leaders working together to promote the power of print!

For the past year, The Print Council has attracted more than 900 media and marketing decision makers across the country to its Print Delivers seminar series. The purpose is for industry leaders to work together to raise awareness about the effectiveness and advantages of print.

Featured below is a video recap of the latest Print Delivers presentation held in Chicago on November 2, 2010. Full article available at:  http://printinthemix.rit.edu/fastfacts/show/396

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Where Did My Print Button Go and When Can I Get It Back?

In my new endeavor for CMP I have become addicted to searching the internet for social media tips and have become somewhat of an information junkie. There is so much information out there. I'm great at mining the information, but there is no way I have time to fully read or even being to retain all the great stuff I find. Which for me means... I need a hard copy to refer to.

No problem, just print them, right? Wait....Where in the world did my print button go?

Back in the "old" days of internet research there was always a button at the beginning or the end of an article that said "print" this article now. I know this because I have two teenage boys, both had many research papers, essays and class projects due over the high school years and I was always their chief researcher.

Go ahead ask me about osmosis, the Greek Gods, Buckingham Palace or Leonardo DaVinci.

Since I am one of those learners who doesn't retain a lot of information on the first reading, I like to refer to my text over and over again to really grasp it. Unfortunately, I am less adept at going back to find an article on the internet to re read it.

Have you ever clicked on a link here, then clicked again and finally found the right thing, but had no idea at what site you ended up?

That's me....almost every day. So where did that print button option go? No, I don't want to blog, Twitter, Facebook or Subscribe to this article, I want to PRINT it.

Is this someone's misguided thought that by not offering a print button we will save more trees, save landfill space or be greener? I hope not. Because unless you want to get my rant going, do not tell me that by not printing something we are saving trees.  I know better.

I need my print button back. Who took it anyway? And, no I do not want to highlight, paste, copy, move and format my articles to a word document and then print. I just want to print....

Give it back! Please.....

Monday, January 3, 2011

Some Food for Thought....Go Paper. Grow Trees!

In my 2011 quest to encourage the use of paper wherever I can....

http://bit.ly/eki9vW

I urge you to clink on the link above and check out the latest campaign from International Paper that further explains how using paper can actually lead to growing trees. Get the facts. Bust the myths. Spread the word. Do something!!!!